Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable heaters and more particularly pertains to a new portable battery operated heater for providing a small amount of emergency heat.
Description of the Prior Art
The use of portable heaters is known in the prior art. More specifically, portable heaters heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art portable heaters include U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,062; U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,739; U.S. Pat. Des. 358,873; U.S. Pat. Des. 312,683; U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,616; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,936.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new portable battery operated heater. The heater of the invention includes a housing having an air inlet, an air outlet and an interiorly concave contoured wall extending from a rear wall to a front wall, the interiorly concave contoured wall being formed to direct a flow of air from the air inlet to the air outlet. A fan electrically connectable to a rechargeable battery or an alternate dc power source is disposed within the housing for creating the flow of air through the air inlet and out the air outlet. A heating element is electrically connectable to the battery and is interposed between the air inlet and the air outlet in such manner that the flow of air passes over the heating element and is heated thereby. A thermostatic control for controlling the operation of the fan and the heating element is connectable to the battery or alternate dc power source by means of a switch which additionally is operable to connect the fan to the battery or alternate dc power source.
In these respects, the portable battery operated heater according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a small amount of emergency heat.